In 1973 I
was working in a portrait and wedding photography studio when my cousin
asked me to take some photographs for him. I took a day off and went to
the Elizabeth Public Library where there had been a fire, causing extensive
smoke damage throughout the building. My cousin owned Crane's Professional
Cleaners, a company started by our grandfather as a furniture refinishing
business in East Orange, New Jersey. His son, my uncle, started doing
appraisal work for insurance companies and my cousin Charles started the
fire and smoke restoration business as an extension of the appraisal work.
One day, "Chuck" suggested that as a professional photographer, I
might be interested in specializing in photography for insurance losses.
I quit my job, rode around the state with him photographing fire losses,
and sold the photos to the insurance adjusters. Wide-Angle Photographic
began in the basement of my mother's house, eventually moved to "real"
office space, and became Garden State Legal Photo Service, serving carriers
as well as plaintiff and defense attorneys.
In 1989, we
saw the need for a more complete demonstrative evidence service and bought
Fred, our first rental skeleton. This created The Evidence Store, and
as Fred's family grew, the list of products and services we offered grew
as well. We were very fortunate to have received coverage in the Wall
Street Journal, New York Times, People Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, as
well as numerous TV and radio interviews.
We marked
our 25 Anniversary (in 1998) with the relocation of our facilities to
larger space. This allowed us to maximize our product offering, upgrade
our equipment to offer new services, and provide a courtroom setting for
client preparation, mock trials, and videotaping depositions. We look
forward to meeting you in the near future and assisting you in the preparation
of your photography, video and trial exhibits